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Gold futures ticked lower Tuesday as the Federal Reserve prepared to begin a two-day meeting that’s expected to see policy makers lay out plans to begin reducing its monthly bond purchases.
“The market is anticipating that the Fed will announce its taper strategy on Wednesday,” said Peter Grant, senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals LLC and Tornado Precious Metals Solutions, in a note.
Read: Fed seen announcing start of a ‘taper’ of bond purchases this week
“If that is indeed the case, and the first step in a longer-term tightening strategy is about to occur, I’d say gold is pretty buoyant. I believe that the Fed’s initial move to taper will be a tentative baby step in light of the current risks to growth,” Grant said.
Gold for December delivery
GC00,
GCZ21,
was down $2.70, or 0.1%, at $1,793.10 an ounce on Comex. December silver
SI00,
SIZ21,
fell 12.3 cents, or 0.5%, to $23.95 an ounce.
Gold bulls “remain trapped in a sticky region with the 200-day simple moving average and $1,800 acting as the first level of resistance,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, in a note.
“Beyond this point, prices may test the October high at $1,813.67, ahead of $1,833.84, the highest level hit in September. Ultimately, how gold ends the week will be impacted by the Federal Reserve meeting and U.S. jobs report on Friday,” he wrote.
